Everything and Anything

Reaction to “A Bad Haiku Insults My Intelligence”

“A Bad Haiku Insults My Intelligence” talks about the essence of haikus presented through a series of bad haikus. It implied that even children know how to write haikus because universally, they are 3 lines composed of 5-7-5 syllables. It also implied that haikus originated in Japan in which the Japanese language’s syllables sound different from the English syllables. The author noted that haikus of the Japanese were meant to show love for nature specifically. By the author’s tone, you could tell that she respects poetry and haikus, not because she is a poet, but because she sees it as an art. It is entitled “A Bad Haiku Insults My Intelligence” probably because she wants the art to be respected and not treated as just any three lines with 5-7-5 syllables. As it is stated in the poem, “Art’s not a formula” shows that poetry isn’t based on technicality, but on creativity.

Personally, I agree with the writer because haikus are beautifully formed and structured out of creativity and love. Their original purpose was to express the Japanese’s love for nature. To be able to honor it as an art, we cannot just call any group of words that follow the structure a haiku. Nowadays, people write comedic poems using the structure of a haiku, but not necessarily writing about love for nature. It may not be offensive to us, but we should still respect the real essence of a haiku so that the term “haiku” does not lose its identity and simple beauty.

“A Bad Haiku Insults My Intelligence” brought attention to the importance of honoring haikus and japanese poetry as an art. It captured the essence clearly and indirectly defined what a haiku should be in a creative and comedic way.